Grand California water problem

[GS O'brino]

There is a recall for the third brake light seal replacement. I had it done yesterday at my local Volkswagen dealer at no charge. I am out of warranty.

 

[NobardPhilFr]

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has revised its TPI number 2067615, which deals with the problem of the 3rd brake light.​

Interesting update on TPI 2067615

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has revised its TPI number 2067615, which deals with the problem of the 3rd brake light. Here you can find our report on the serv

www.grandcali.com

and

Service measure 94R4 – Quality improvement measure Grand California / 3rd brake light and step

3rd brake light is now proactively sealed The mills in Hanover grind slowly, very slowly. On 25.01. Volkswagen has finally forwarded a work instruction to its

www.grandcali.com

 

[NobardPhilFr]

If your GC is still under warranty it is a warranty fix. There is a VW TPI describing the issue & fix.

Hi GordonH
Do you have the information about TPI 2073114 (Replacement of defective roof seal) ?
Thanks

​

 

[GordonH]

No, sorry. You may find more detail on the grandcali.com website or on Erwin.

 

[GS O'brino]

I had the 3rd light sealed by me using aluminium tape, a couple of weeks ago it was "fix" under vw instructions by my local vw dealer. Unfortunately I have water leaks again.

 

[GordonH]

Seems an odd fix and not inline with the official TPI. This is the UK one.

 

[reimajarvinen]

Water ingress at the A-pillar – new TPI repair GRP roof

At the beginning of the year, we were shocked to discover that the roof seam on our Grand California had cracked, leading to water ingress, particularly at the

www.grandcali.com

 

[GS O'brino]

Water ingress at the A-pillar – new TPI repair GRP roof

At the beginning of the year, we were shocked to discover that the roof seam on our Grand California had cracked, leading to water ingress, particularly at the

www.grandcali.com

Thanks reimajarvinen. After a detailed checking on the seal of my GC I found 2 places with detachment between the silicone and the hard roof. Very dificult to see with the black silicone, but I could push a credit card on the gap. I have an appointment on my vw garage for another unrelated issue the 9th of January. Will see if I get something done. I am out of warranty.At the moment. I cover the areas with tape.

 

[NobardPhilFr]

No, sorry. You may find more detail on the grandcali.com website or on Erwin.

Ok thanks
I'm going to check it out.

 

[gabi_obr]

Hello Everyone,
I am new here, but I found out that my Grand Cali 600 has the same water leak in the passager A pillar on the right side ( like it was presented on the phots from above). Did anyone found the solution for this ? If the problem Is in the rear break light , is there the possibility for water to come in the font of the vehicle?
Thank you in advance.

 

[GS O'brino]

Hello Everyone,
I am new here, but I found out that my Grand Cali 600 has the same water leak in the passager A pillar on the right side ( like it was presented on the phots from above). Did anyone found the solution for this ? If the problem Is in the rear break light , is there the possibility for water to come in the font of the vehicle?
Thank you in advance.

Hi Gabi,Here's an old photo of my van where the silicone sealant had detached. (I used tape and water to confirm that was the exact leaking spot—it was really tricky to spot otherwise.)The root cause is the difference in thermal expansion coefficients: the polymer (fiberglass?) roof expands and contracts much less than the metal body underneath. In hot sun, this mismatch creates stresses that exceed the elasticity limit of the silicone, causing it to pull away .In my case, I removed the old silicone from the affected area, cleaned everything meticulously (degreaser ), and reapplied fresh silicone. No leaks or issues since then.

 

[GS O'brino]

Hi Gabi,Here's an old photo of my van where the silicone sealant had detached. (I used tape and water to confirm that was the exact leaking spot—it was really tricky to spot otherwise.)The root cause is the difference in thermal expansion coefficients: the polymer (fiberglass?) roof expands and contracts much less than the metal body underneath. In hot sun, this mismatch creates stresses that exceed the elasticity limit of the silicone, causing it to pull away .In my case, I removed the old silicone from the affected area, cleaned everything meticulously (degreaser ), and reapplied fresh silicone. No leaks or issues since then.

View attachment 144562

Sorry, the polymer/fiberglass roof expands more than the metal body.

 

[gabi_obr]

Hello,
Today was a bit warmer outside so I tried to do a test, and I sprayed water with pressure washer.
I let it in that area for 30 min, but I didn't observed any single drop of water. I removed the inside A-pillar cover from VW GC600 but nothing, no drop inside or outside. I am not convinced that this is the root cause. Did anyone solved the issue in any other ways?
BR,
GabiObr

 

[GS O'brino]

Hello,
Today was a bit warmer outside so I tried to do a test, and I sprayed water with pressure washer.
I let it in that area for 30 min, but I didn't observed any single drop of water. I removed the inside A-pillar cover from VW GC600 but nothing, no drop inside or outside. I am not convinced that this is the root cause. Did anyone solved the issue in any other ways?
BR,
GabiObr

View attachment 144928

View attachment 144929

Check this one: https://www.grandcali.com/en/its-not-always-the-roof-seam/

 

[gabi_obr]

Check this one: https://www.grandcali.com/en/its-not-always-the-roof-seam/

Thank you for your reply. I was thinking before that this might happen and condensation to be the cause. The thing is, I observed that after 2 -3 days of slow-medium rain and I observed water in water cups although no one stayed after night in the car. So I observed this watering issue when we slept in the car in winter-cold season and also now at the beginning of March when outside is 7-8 degrees and night from 0 to -2, but as I said also when nobody stayed in the car. This issue is very annoying . Hope to find a solution.....